Edmonton forum focuses on pesticides and impact on health

With planting season drawing near, pesticide use was the focal point at an event in Edmonton this weekend, hosted by the Pesticide Free Alberta Coalition.

Dr. Meg Sears, an Ottawa-based biochemical engineer, was the keynote speaker. She’s considered an expert on pesticide policy and its health effects. Among her work, Sears has been researching environmental contributors to cancer and other diseases at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.

In its research, Pesticide Free Edmonton said it found that Edmonton is the last municipality in Canada to use Chlorpyrifos for mosquito control.

“It’s more toxic to the human nervous system than some commonly used chemicals in other parts of Canada,” Sears said. “In fact, this whole strategy in other parts, [such as] Ontario, would only be used if there were confirmed cases of West Nile virus in mosquitos.”